Mobile cafe encourages customers to visit them in new pop-up location near Northampton Railway Station

The owner of a mobile cafe is encouraging customers to visit him in a new pop-up location near Northampton Railway Station.

Simply Sicily operates from a vintage trike and was set up by Sam Di Pane in September 2020, when he decided he wanted to move away from the corporate working world after 25 years.

The mobile food and drink business is available for weddings, events, special occasions and celebrations, as well as the fact you can visit Carlo the coffee trike at his different daily locations.

As Sam’s parents were both Italian chefs with restaurants and he had served coffees since the age of eight, he knew he wanted to venture down the hospitality route and act on his passion for coffee.

After investing in the custom-made vintage trike, Sam set up in his front garden ahead of landing pitches and had a “brilliant response” from the Boughton community where he lived.

Simply Sicily then went on to secure pitches and bookings further afield, including at pop-up events and food and drink festivals.

When asked to describe Simply Sicily, Sam said: “We’re a mobile cafe, a cafe on wheels, that pops up at different events.”

The business owner shared that January to March is a typically quiet time on the events front, and it “happened by chance” that he heard about the available pitch between Sol Central and Northampton Railway Station.

Located in Mare Fair, opposite Sol Central on the way to the station, Sam began at the pitch on Monday (February 5).

Simply Sicily will remain there from Monday to Wednesday next week (February 12 to 14) and Monday to Friday the week after (February 19 to 23).

Sam described the three weeks as a “trial period” and the success will determine if it will happen again moving forward.

When asked how it had been after the first few days, Sam said: “It gets a lot of footfall and people walking by, but it’s a slow burner. In the early mornings, people have routines and cafes they like to visit.

“Slowly but surely it’s getting better and the word is spreading.”

Sam would love to see passersby stop at the Simply Sicily trike, as he guarantees “a friendly face”, “excellent coffee” and “a bit of chat you wouldn’t normally get”.

Describing Simply Sicily as a “different experience”, he hopes to see numbers continue to pick up over the coming weeks.

Sam is pleased to have built up a loyal audience over the past three-and-a-half years and the fact he “sees the same faces at different locations”.

Many events are already lined up for Simply Sicily for the spring, summer and autumn months. One of Sam’s particular favourites is Dr Frights Halloween Nights in Earls Barton, in which he spends 15 consecutive evenings in the same location and serves alcoholic coffees throughout.

Simply Sicily will also be at a number of different locations throughout this month and more information can be found on the business’ social media platforms.

For more information, visit Simply Sicily’s Facebook page here.